[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20160]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     STATEMENT ON HURRICANE KATRINA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CYNTHIA McKINNEY

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 13, 2005

  Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, On September 2, 2005, I made the following 
statement at a press conference in Atlanta, GA and I submit it for the 
Record.

       I thank the Mayor and my colleagues for convening this 
     press conference to express solidarity in our concern for the 
     plight of Katrina's victims. The message today is that while 
     we are watching this tragedy unfold, we are not sitting idly 
     by.
       The Office of the Fourth Congressional District has adopted 
     Baton Rouge Mosque #65 which is housing 100 New Orleans 
     residents. They need dry goods, food, and hygiene kits. 
     Anyone interested in helping us help these 100 people, please 
     bring donations to our Congressional office as soon as 
     possible.
       As we open our hearts, pocketbooks, and homes to Katrina's 
     victims, it is now imperative that the Government do its 
     part.
       To see it coming is not enough. The Administration appears 
     flat-footed as its actions have not been fast enough and 
     remain slower than most Americans can comprehend. A 
     responsive government would:
       1. Maximize the use of U.S. Customs air assets to drop 
     badly needed food and supplies to the people. Sadly, I have 
     been told by an investigative journalist that precious 
     Customs air assets are available, but are not being used to 
     ferry badly-needed food, radios, and supplies. We dropped 
     food in Afghanistan, certainly we can drop food in the United 
     States.
       2. Tell the people what they can expect from their 
     leadership in authority. Clear lines of authority should have 
     been established and the people informed of what the 
     government was going to do to alleviate their suffering. Much 
     of the confusion and chaos we are witnessing is due to 
     ineffective communication of the plan of action to the people 
     in the affected areas.
       3. Preposition necessities. It is clear that the 
     Administration failed to preposition hospital ships, pumps, 
     and supplies, in the face of a Category 5 hurricane barreling 
     toward the Gulf States. The Administration is just now 
     mobilizing to satisfy the massive and desperate need. And 
     sadly, 40 percent of the Mississippi National Guard are in 
     Iraq; 35 percent of the Louisiana National Guard are in Iraq; 
     for Florida, the figure is 25 percent; Alabama has 23 percent 
     of its Guard stationed in Iraq.
       4. Be careful of the language used. What media bright light 
     decided to term the New Orleans residents as ``refugees''? It 
     is insulting and should be stopped immediately. And, how dare 
     anyone talk down to a devastated population while Bunnatine 
     Greenhouse sits busted from her job because she dared to pull 
     the plug on Halliburton's looting of the U.S. Treasury of 
     billions of dollars. The President asks for patience and 
     lends Katrina's victims his thoughts and prayers. That is not 
     enough given the magnitude of the problem. And FEMA should 
     not now tell victims to take responsibility, but must instead 
     deal with its own responsibility to care for a devastated 
     population. And finally, talk from Speaker Hastert and others 
     questioning the value of rebuilding the City of New Orleans 
     should be arrested immediately.
       5. Recalibrate its values and priorities. New Orleans is 
     not just a home for hundreds of thousands; its ports form the 
     heart of America's domestic and international commerce, and 
     our oil and gas nerve center. Shame on this Administration 
     for slashing money to protect New Orleans and shifting it to 
     Halliburton and Iraq. Shame on this Administration for not 
     curtailing our dependency on overconsumption of oil; and for 
     not recognizing global warming. Shame on this Administration 
     for failing to take care of the American people.
       6. Offer maximum assistance to people in need. Houston's 
     Astrodome has already reached its capacity. Atlanta has the 
     capacity to give and a desire to share.
       Thank you.

                          ____________________